Welcome to Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research

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I want to take this opportunity in the inaugural issue to provide you with some background on this journal and to describe our purpose and philosophy.

During the February 2005 meeting of the Provincial and Territorial Library Associations’ representatives, a few simple questions were posed by Cynthia Archer, then VP President/President Elect of OLA and University Librarian at York University, “Has anyone ever thought about a peer reviewed electronic-only journal for your members? Do you think anyone would be interested?” The group was immediately excited and supportive of this initiative and agreed to go forward with it. Fast forward two years and here we are. An idea to improve benefits to our members has since evolved into something much larger – a benefit to our profession as a whole. The purpose of this initiative is straightforward: to provide myriad opportunities to the Canadian library community in the realm of scholarly communication. The journal is an outlet for sharing innovations in the workplace and one of a very few Canadian venues for the much desired peer review status. In addition, the journal provides a chance for librarians and library workers to be editors, reviewers and writing coaches. Though of great importance to academic librarians, whose tenure or promotion often depends on peer review, this journal is in no way meant exclusively for academics: this is a journal for everyone.

Our philosophy guarantees rigorous peer review and high standards for both theoretical and practical articles which are made freely and immediately available to everyone. No embargoes! The founding members of the editorial board and the Partnership Board were adamant about open access; so much so that many were not willing to support the journal if it was not truly open access. If librarians can talk the talk we have to be prepared to walk the walk and that’s what we’ve done with this journal.

In this journal you will also find news, profiles and views from librarians and library workers across Canada, further connecting members of our library community.

Special thanks to all the volunteers who have given of their time to bring this journal to fruition, in particular, past and present members of the editorial board:

Thanks as well to University of Guelph for hosting the journal and Wayne Johnston for the much needed technical expertise. Finally, thanks to the Ontario Library Association for its financial support as well as assistance with communications, design, provision of reviewing materials and vendor relations.

The right place at the right time, I believe, sums up my involvement with the journal. It has been a wonderful experience. I am confident that this journal will improve with each and every issue as we chart new territory in the world of open access publishing. Please participate and contribute! I welcome any comments or suggestions via email (jennifer.richard@acadiau.ca).